A History of Gaming in Nine Influential Genres
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Like the first-person shooter, the RTS was a genre that acquired much of its popularity over the course of networked multiplayer games. But networked gaming really came into its own with the appearance of the persistent world, online RPG, taking PC gaming in a new direction from the end of the '90s. There were, of course, primitive MUDs in existence ever since computers could connect to each other, but it was the appearance of Ultima Online in 1997 that really ushered in the age of digital crack. A couple of years later, Everquest reduced families to ruin as gamers across the globe spent every waking minute trying to rack up ludicrous character levels. Initially these games emerged out of the western RPG tradition, but the release of Phantasy Star Online in 2000 paved the way for the likes of Final Fantasy XI (in 2002) and, more recently, White Knight Chronicles. In the west, meanwhile, the release of World of Warcraft has left little room for any competition.
